Comments on: Experts Look: What The Leafs Have To Do!…http://hockeytraderumors.com/experts-look-what-the-leafs-have-to-do/
NHL - Hockey Trade Rumors, providing NHL Hockey Trade Rumors since 1996Mon, 20 Jul 2015 16:53:19 +0000hourly1By: OldTimeHockey_28http://hockeytraderumors.com/experts-look-what-the-leafs-have-to-do/comment-page-2/#comment-30114
Tue, 04 Mar 2003 17:52:36 +0000http://localhost/wordpress24/?p=5084#comment-30114Not sure Why was a Montreal team that is not even going to make the playoffs a contender in the preseason.

Because some idiotic fans(habs, leafs, whoever) where blinders and don’t see the skill that is out there.

]]>By: NotaLeafsFanhttp://hockeytraderumors.com/experts-look-what-the-leafs-have-to-do/comment-page-2/#comment-30113
Tue, 04 Mar 2003 12:04:01 +0000http://localhost/wordpress24/?p=5084#comment-30113You make a very interesting argument concerning the inability of Toronto Maple Leafs coach/general manager Pat Quinn to trade for, or acquire through free agency signings, a significant number of quality players that would make a difference between the Leafs winning the Stanley Cup and merely contending in the post-season playoffs. The Varada trade and the Kovalev trade are several recent examples of the tendency of other NHL general managers to play mind games with the Leafs management and then accept a lower bid for their player. Pat Quinn coached the Canadian mens’ Olympic gold medal-winning hockey team, and from what I recall reading in the newspapers, virtually all of the players liked and respected Quinn. Why would they not want to come and play for him in Toronto? Owen Nolan (who won an Olympic gold medal) whines like a spoiled brat and says he wants to stay in San Jose rather than head to Toronto in a trade. Bobby Holik states that he never took the Leafs’ offer ($42-million?) seriously and signed with the Rangers. Flyers’ GM Bob Clarke plays head games with Pat Quinn by asking for players (Kaberle, Antropov) that he knows the Leafs would never trade for Lindros. My observations: (1) The perception among other NHL general managers and players is that Toronto moves too slowly when it comes to making trades, i.e., Quinn has too much on his plate as both coach and general manager and fails to act quickly when quickness is required; (2) the Leafs want a quality player without trading a quality player from their roster, i.e., sometimes you have to give up a Tomas Kaberle or prospects like Brad Boyes to receive quality in return; (3) the Leafs are seen as not being committed to winning a championship – unlike Detroit, Colorado, Dallas, Philadelphia or Ottawa – despite rhetoric from Steve Stavro and Richard Peddie.

I don’t think money is an issue. The Leafs pay their players in U.S. currency and the team is considered one of the wealthiest in the NHL. Ultimately, it comes down to a perception that the Leafs are all talk and no action when it comes to building a championship. In addition, perhaps the Leafs have been too smug for too long, and feel no need to go out and sell the merits of the team and the city. Case in point: The Dallas Stars signing UFA Bill Guerin when he was with the Bruins. Dallas sent him a CD-ROM extolling the virtues of the team and the city, they also flew the Stars president and team management to Boston to surprise Guerin and personally sell him on the Stars. The end result? Guerin – one of the better NHL forwards until his recent surgery – signed with the Stars. Perhaps the Leafs need to start from the beginning. Fire Quinn, hire Bob Gainey as the new general manager and hire a reputable coach who doesn’t whine or complain about how the referees are treating the Leafs – perhaps Jacques Lemaire? or Jacques Demers who won a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens? Until these changes happen at the team’s management/coaching level, the Leafs will continue to suffer at the hands of other NHL general managers and UFA players looking to sign with a contending team.

]]>By: nocupherehttp://hockeytraderumors.com/experts-look-what-the-leafs-have-to-do/comment-page-2/#comment-30112
Tue, 04 Mar 2003 10:11:03 +0000http://localhost/wordpress24/?p=5084#comment-30112Stop your damn whining if Tucker and Marchment were playing with your team they would be gods and can do no wrong….don’t you understand dude that if everyone hates em they gotta be doing something right…
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